Sibyl

In Greek and Roman antiquity, the sibyls were inspired prophetesses whose words foretold the future, often in riddling form. The most famous is the Cumaean Sibyl, near Naples, whom Virgil has guide Aeneas through the Underworld. Rome kept Sibylline Books that were consulted in times of crisis. Christianity adopted certain sibyls as heralds of Christ, and Michelangelo painted five of them on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The adjective “sibylline” now means obscure or hard to understand.